The sum of the parts is greater than the whole for car thieves

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As cars become more complex, the parts become more expensive, current automotive industry logic holds. But it's not always the most complex parts that are getting pricier. And with the rise in the cost of car parts, the U.S. has seen a rise in car thefts aimed specifically at breaking down cars and trucks to sell them piece by piece.

Car theft can seem like a very 1980s-style urban crime, but with the proliferation of advanced antitheft devices and GPS tracking, as well as the difficulty of selling a stolen car whole, the trend of car thefts nationwide continues to lean in the direction of disassembly of the most expensive components for resale, a recent report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicates. The sum of parts is, essentially, greater than the whole, the report suggests.

"Many of the vehicles that are recovered are missing wheels and rims or other key parts, while ones that are never recovered end up in chop shops where they are quickly dismantled and sold piece by piece," the NICB report points out.

Car thefts in 2017 rose 4.1 percent from the previous year, the NICB report states, citing preliminary crime data compiled by the FBI. But among the cars that are recovered, it's not always the single most expensive parts, like whole engines or transmissions, that are often removed. Rather, it is the parts most likely to be replaced following a relatively minor fender bender, as those components usually see the greatest demand among repair shops and the used parts market.

For example, the top 15 most frequently replaced parts -- doors, bumpers and quarter panels -- on a 2016 Toyota Camry, which clinched the title of the most stolen vehicle in 2016, amount to $10,695, excluding the labor costs of installation. The top 14 most replaced parts on the second most stolen vehicle in the U.S., the 2016 Nissan Altima, amount to $14,236, excluding labor, according to NICB. Given the $20,000 price of a 2016 Altima on the used market, it's easy to see how it's much easier for criminals to deal in parts alone.

Prices for individual parts, like a $1,144 headlight assembly for the 2016 GMC Sierra, which had the honor of being the third most stolen vehicle in the U.S. in 2016, no doubt make the Sierra a worthwhile target for thieves who are only after a few choice components. Parts like bumpers are all in the $1,000 range on this truck, while just the tailgate weighs in at $724, according to NICB. Four alloy wheels from the same truck will set owners back $2,373 if they have to be replaced.

Of course, an engine on all three cars and trucks will approach the $10,000 mark with labor for installation. But when it comes to the amount of effort in removing and trading car parts, it's easy to see why tailgates and wheels are more common for thieves to target.

An all-new Nissan Altima will go on sale later this year as a 2019 model after Nissan takes the wraps off the newest sedan in its lineup at the New York auto show at the end of March.The 2019 Altima ...

"With new tailgates retailing around $1,300, with even higher costs for some variants, the demand contributes to a thriving underground market for vehicle parts -- a market fed with parts removed from stolen vehicles," the NICB points out.

Still, the rate of reported tailgate thefts on insured vehicles has remained steady over the past few years. The NICB reports that 2014 saw 1,895 instances of tailgate thefts in the U.S., while subsequent years saw the rates remain at that level with 1,787 thefts in 2015, 1,877 thefts in 2016 and 1,788 thefts in 2017. The NICB points out that these numbers are just from the instances of tailgate theft reported to insurance companies, so the actual numbers of reported and unreported thefts to law enforcement agencies could be much higher.

"For the professional theft ring, stealing and stripping vehicles for parts has always been a lucrative business. On today’s cars and trucks, the parts are often worth more than the intact vehicle and may be easier to move and sell," said NICB senior vice president and COO Jim Schweitzer. "That’s why we see so many thefts of key items like wheels and tires and tailgates ... there’s always a market for them."

The only good news for car owners, if any, is that this type of crime is indeed slowly becoming retro thanks to technology: Car thefts have declined for the past 25 years, according to the Insurance Information Institute, peaking at 1,661,738 in 1991. By comparison, 2016 had 765,484 vehicle thefts -- a drop of 46 percent. The only spikes came in recent years: In 2015 and 2016, rates rose by 3.2 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.